Forces of Darkness continue to line up against The Rocket Man.
Roger Clemens is under investigation for denying steroid use under oath. This entire affair has not been right, and it has not been pretty. But neither is Mindy McCready.
Luckily, The Rocket Man may have a W in his corner.
Good Ol’ Boy Networks & Presidential Assasinations. Welcome to downtown, Dealey Plaza, Texas. George W. Bush and Roger Clemens. Birds of a feather. It’s not who you know … it’s who Roger knows.
Rumors persist that W may pardon the Rocket prior to any convictions. It’s not unprecedented and, in some circles, it may be seen as an admission of guilt. Not in this circle.
Richard Emery, attorney for Brian McNamee said he expects the All-Star pitcher to be pardoned by President George W. Bush over his testimony to Congressional investigators about Clemens’s alleged steroid use. He said that Clemens’s agreement to testify under oath, placing him in jeopardy of a perjury prosecution, is a sign that the outgoing Republican president will pardon the All-Star pitcher. Clemens cited his friendship with the president’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, at the hearing that was divided largely along party lines.
Emery said it was clear at the hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that Republicans were attacking McNamee and supporting Clemens in “the most blatant, biased and most prejudiced ways,” while Democrats were cross-examining both Clemens and McNamee.
“It is certainly my view, that they got a direction from elsewhere, whether it’s directly from the White House or the Republican Party, who knows, that they were there to support Clemens,” Emery said in a telephone interview.
Clemens’s representatives must believe there was “no downside” for the pitcher to testify, under oath, Emery said.
“That would mean that if they were prosecuted they will get a pardon,” he said. “That is the sense I have from the way the hearing was conducted. There is a message from powers far above the committee that Roger is to be favored.”
Emery said Clemens, 45, who has not been charged with any crimes, could be pardoned prospectively by Bush, as former U.S. President Richard Nixon was by succeeding President Gerald Ford. This would prevent any further investigation of Clemens or criminal charges. Bush’s presidency expires in January.
Rusty Hardin, Clemens’s lawyer, said in a statement that “Richard Emery just has to quit smoking his own dope.”
McNamee’s harshest criticism came from Republicans Dan Burton and Chris Shays. McNamee, under questioning from Burton, admitted lying repeatedly to reporters in writing about steroids in baseball, and lied in failing to disclose everything he knew about the Clemens situation as the investigation advanced.
“You’re here to tell the truth. You’re here under oath,” Burton said to McNamee during the hearing. “And yet we have lie after lie after lie after lie, where you’ve told this committee and the people of this country that Roger Clemens did things that — I don’t know what to believe. I know one thing I don’t believe, and that’s you.”
Shays said that McNamee’s actions were no different than those of a drug dealer. Amen.
In other Roger Clemens News:
- Roger Clemens has been asked to end his involvement with a charity golf tournament he has hosted for four years as the fallout from the Mitchell Report continues to haunt the seven-time Cy Young award winner.
- Koby Clemens, Roger’s oldest son, had disorderly conduct charges against him dopped three months after being arrested for an early-morning disturbance at a restaurant in Salem, Va. Instead, Clemens and first baseman Mark Ori, teammates for Class A Salem last season, agreed to perform community service, according to reports. They spoke to four student groups in Virginia about the dangers of alcohol, drugs and peer pressure on Thursday. It is believed that they “chewed & screwed” and when confronted, beat up the waiter & taped his butt cheeks together.
- Koby, talking about his relationship with The Rocket said: “We’re strong and closer than ever,” Clemens said. “No matter what anybody can write, no matter what anybody can say, you’ll never break our family. That’s how I feel about it. I’m not even going to give him a name because I’m not as low as that guy.” That guy is, of course, Brian McNamee, his father’s former trainer and the man who has accused his father of using steroids. “There’s a lot of people that you think are your real friends. As it’s gone further and further there aren’t that many people pulling for my dad anymore, which really hurts. There’s a lot of people that have done tons and tons of worse stuff, including the man that is against him.”
- Rog’s four sons’ names all start with K. They are: Koby, Kory, Kacy, and Kody. How kool is that?
